Memories of Christmases past dominate my holidays

6:46 PM,
Dec. 17, 2013

Written by

Sid Salter

As I've written over the years, the newspaper business taught me one fact: For all the joy the Christmas season brings, it also can bring regret and sadness.

First and foremost, the Christmas season carries with it an increased incidence of death. During my more than three decades in the newspaper business, I learned that fact simply by seeing the increase in the number of obituaries we published during the holidays.

But more than that anecdotal observation, it's a scientific fact. An analysis of mortality rates during different times of year found that people are more likely to die during the ...